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Monaco (Albert I)/Civilopedia
Monaco History The ruling family of Monaco, the house of Grimaldi, traces its ancestry to Otto Canella (c.1070–1143), who was consul of Genoa in 1133. The family name, Grimaldi, was adapted from the Christian name of Canella's youngest son, Grimaldo. The Genoese built a fort on the site of present-day Monaco in 1215, and the Grimaldi family secured control late in the 13th century. The principality was founded in 1338 by Charles I, during whose reign Menton and Roquebrune were acquired. Claudine became sovereign upon the death of her father, Catalan, in 1457. She ceded her rights to her husband and cousin, Lambert, during whose reign, in 1489, the duke of Savoy recognized the independence of Monaco. The first Monégasque coins were minted in the 16th century. Full recognition of the princely title was obtained by Honoré II in 1641. The last male in the Grimaldi line, Antoine I, died in 1731. His daughter Louise-Hippolyte in 1715 had married Jacques-François-Léonor de Goyon-Matignon, Count of Thorigny, who adopted the name Grimaldi and assumed the Monégasque throne. France annexed the principality in 1793, but independence was reestablished in 1814. The following year, the Treaty of Stupinigi placed Monaco under the protection of the neighboring kingdom of Sardinia. In 1848, the towns of Roquebrune and Menton, which constituted the eastern extremity of Monaco, successfully rebelled and established themselves as a republic. In 1861, a year after the Sardinian cession of Savoy and Nice to France, Roquebrune and Menton also became part of that nation. The economic development of Monaco proceeded rapidly with the opening of the railroad in 1868 and of the gambling casino. Since that time, the principality has become world famous as a tourist and recreation center. Gambling, operated by Société des Bains de Mer, a state controlled group, recorded a 30% increase in gambling receipts in 1998. Real estate and retail sales have also registered strong growth in recent years. As of 2005 Monaco has no unemployment and provides jobs for 25,000 Italian and French commuters. More than half of government revenues, however, come from value-added tax. The rate levied by France is also in effect in Monaco. France has the highest VAT in the European Union and has come under pressure to adjust its rate downward in conformity with the rest of the EU. However, Monaco is not an EU member. Light industry and banking have also become important. Monaco joined the United Nations on 28 May 1993. Monaco is the second-smallest independent state in the world, after the Holy See, and is almost entirely urban. Prince Rainier III, once married to the American actress Grace Kelly, led the country 1949–2005 and is often credited for the country's impressive economic growth. Tourism, banking and other types of financial services augment the economy's former dependence on gambling. Rainier died in early 2005 and in July 2005, Prince Albert II, son of Rainier and Kelly, assumed the throne. The event was somewhat overshadowed by his admission of having a 22-month-old illegitimate child. His illegitimate son will not be able to inherit the throne, although Prince Albert has acknowledged paternity and assumed his financial responsibilities. Albert I History Albert I was Prince of Monaco and Duke of Valentinois from 10 September 1889 until his death. He devoted much of his life to oceanography. Alongside his expeditions, Albert I made reforms on political, economic and social levels, bestowing a constitution on the Principality in 1911. Early Life Born Albert Honoré Charles Grimaldi on 13 November 1848 in Paris, France, the son of Prince Charles III (1818–1889), and Countess Antoinette de Mérode-Westerloo (1828–1864), a Belgian noblewoman, maternal aunt of Donna Maria Vittoria dal Pozzo, Princess della Cisterna, Duchess consort of Aosta and Queen consort of Spain. As a young man, Prince Albert served in the Spanish Navy, during the Franco-Prussian War, he joined the French Navy where he was awarded the Legion of Honor. In addition to his interest in oceanographic studies, Albert had a keen interest in the origins of man and in Paris, he founded the "Institute for Human Paleontology" that was responsible for a number of archeological digs. The "Grimaldi Man" found in the Baousse-Rousse cave was named in his honour. Albert's intellectual achievements gained him worldwide recognition and in 1909, the British Academy of Science made him a member. First Marriage On 21 September 1869 at the Château de Marchais (which is still in the possession of the Grimaldi family today) in Champagne, Prince Albert was married to Lady Mary Victoria Hamilton (1850–1922), of Lanarkshire, Scotland, a daughter of the 11th Duke of Hamilton and his wife, Princess Marie of Baden. The couple met for the first time in August 1869 at a ball hosted by the Emperor and Empress of France; their marriage had been arranged by Albert's grandmother Caroline. Caroline had tried to make a match between Albert and Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge, the first cousin of Queen Victoria, and sought the help of Napoléon III (Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) and his wife, Empress Eugénie. The Emperor convinced Caroline that Queen Victoria would never allow a relative of hers to marry into a family who were making a living out of gambling. He then suggested Mary, his third cousin and sister of his good friend, the 12th Duke of Hamilton, as a suitable alternative. Mary was a granddaughter of Charles, Grand Duke of Baden and related by blood to the French Imperial family through her maternal grandmother Stéphanie de Beauharnais, Emperor Napoléon I's adopted daughter and second cousin of Napoléon III's mother, Hortense de Beauharnais. The Hamiltons were well-aware of the extent of Monaco's estate, which was no bigger than theirs, but were sufficiently impressed by its status as an independent state. The couple married at Château de Marchais on 21 September 1869. Within a year of their marriage, the couple's only child (Louis) was born, but Mary, from the hills of Scotland, disliked Monaco and everything Mediterranean. While Albert was away fighting in the Franco-Prussian war, she left Monaco permanently. The couple divorced and their marriage was annulled by the Church on 3 January 1880, although a special provision was made by the Vatican to allow Louis to remain legitimate in the eyes of the Church. Civilly, the marriage was dissolved on 28 July 1880 by the Order of Prince Charles III. That same year, the former Princess of Monaco remarried in Florence, Italy, to a Hungarian nobleman, Prince Tassilo Festetics von Tolna. Accession and Second Marriage On 10 September 1889, Albert ascended the throne of Monaco on the death of his father. That same year in Paris, on 30 October, he married the Dowager Duchess de Richelieu, née Marie Alice Heine (1858–1925). The American daughter of a New Orleans building contractor of German-Jewish descent, Alice Heine had married the Duc de Richelieu but had been widowed by age 21 and left with a young son, Armand. Her marriage to Prince Albert proved an equal blessing for him and the tiny principality of Monaco, since Alice brought a strong business acumen, well in advance of her youth. Having helped put her husband's principality on a sound financial footing, she would devote her energies to making Monaco one of Europe's great cultural centers, with an opera, theater, and a ballet under the direction of the famed Russian impresario Serge Diaghilev. Despite the initial success of the marriage of Prince Albert and Princess Alice, in 1902, they separated legally, without issue, though did not divorce. According to Anne Edwards' book The Grimaldis of Monaco, this was due to the Princess's friendship with the composer Isidore de Lara. By the same token, the courtesan Caroline Otero, La Belle Otero, who had served him as a high class prostitute between 1893 and 1897, recalled Albert fondly in her memoirs and claimed that he was not a virile man and suffered from erection difficulty. Princess Alice had La Belle Otero banned from the province in 1897 for being seen with her husband. Later Life In March 1910, there were mass protests against his rule. The Monegasque demanded a constitution and a parliament to rein in the absolute monarch or else they would overthrow him and establish a republic. They were dissatisfied about French domination of the principality's politics and economy. There was severe unemployment as the country lacked factories and farmland and the casinos did not allow citizens to work there. On 5 January 1911, Prince Albert I granted Monaco a constitution, but the document had little real meaning in terms of reducing autocratic rule and was soon suspended by the Prince when World War I broke out. Also in 1911, Prince Albert created the Monte Carlo Rally, an automobile race designed to draw tourists to Monaco and the Casino. Despite his military service, or perhaps because of it, the Prince became a pacifist, establishing the International Institute of Peace in Monaco as a place to develop a peaceful settlement for conflict through arbitration. In the tension-filled times leading up to World War I, Prince Albert made numerous attempts to dissuade Germany's Kaiser Wilhelm II from war. When war came, Prince Albert could not avoid becoming involved. In one incident, he even wrote personally to the Kaiser in an effort to ameliorate the consequences of Gen. Karl von Bülow's wrath. Without the Prince's intervention, the French villages of Sissonne and Marchais would have been destroyed. In the "Great War to End All Wars," Monaco declared its neutrality, but in fact, provided the Allied forces with hospitals, convalescent centers, and soldiers, including Prince Albert's only son, Louis. Albert died on 26 June 1922 in Paris, France and was succeeded by his son, Louis II. Oceanography Prince Albert I of Monaco devoted much of his life to the study of the sea and oceans. At only 22 years old, he embarked on a career in the then relatively new science of oceanography. Understanding the importance of the relationship between living creatures and their environment, he devised a number of techniques and instruments for measurement and exploration. Albert I was also the “instigator and promulgator” of the oceanographic science he contributed to create. He founded the Oceanographic Institute Foundation Albert I, Prince of Monaco is a private foundation recognized of public utility, established in 1906. It has two buildings: The Oceanographic Institute of Paris, now renamed Ocean House, and what became the world-renowned Oceanographic Museum of Monaco. This includes an aquarium, a museum, and a library, with research facilities in Paris. Unique Components Prince's Carabinier The Compagnie des Carabiniers du Prince (Prince's Company of Carabiniers) is the Infantry branch of the Force Publique in Monaco, and one of the limited number of militaries that recruits foreigners. Although Monaco's defense is the responsibility of France, Monaco maintains a small force for the protection of the Sovereign and the Prince's Palace. Formed by Prince Honoré IV in 1817, the unit was reorganized in 1909. The company numbers 119 officers and men – while the NCOs and soldiers are local, the officers have generally served in the French Army or the Republican Guard. Along with the Corps des Sapeurs-Pompiers, the Carabiniers form Monaco's total public forces. Grand Casino The idea of opening a gambling casino in Monaco belongs to Princess Caroline, a shrewd, business-minded spouse of Prince Florestan I. Revenues from the proposed venture were supposed to save the House of Grimaldi from bankruptcy. The ruling family's persistent financial problems became especially acute after the loss of tax revenue from two breakaway towns, Menton and Roquebrune, which declared independence from Monaco in 1848 and refused to pay taxes on olive oil and fruit imposed by the Grimaldis. City-States Verona The city was founded by an ancient tribe (possibly the Euganei or Raeti) and was later occupied by the Gallic Cenomani. It became a Roman colony in 89 bce and rapidly rose in importance because it was at the junction of main roads between Italy and northern Europe. The poet Catullus was born there. Verona was occupied by the Ostrogoth king Theodoric (489), who built a castle on the site of the present Castel San Pietro on the Adige River. The city remained important under the Lombard kings. It was captured by Charlemagne in 774 and was the residence of his son Pippin and of Berengar of Tours. Verona was an independent commune from the early 12th century, and it suffered during the early struggles between the Guelfs (papal party) and Ghibellines (imperial party), in the course of which it chose the Guelf party. Ruled by the tyrant Ezzelino da Romano (1226–59), the city grew calmer and prospered under the della Scala (Scaliger) family after Mastino I della Scala became podesta (chief magistrate) in 1260. In the reign of Bartolomeo della Scala, Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet traditionally loved and died; their romance is commemorated by the so-called Tomb of Juliet, Romeo’s House, and Juliet’s House. Bartolomeo’s brother Cangrande I (died 1329), the greatest member of the della Scala family, protected the exiled poet Dante. Verona fell to Gian Galeazzo Visconti in 1387 and in 1405 to Venice, which held it, apart from its occupation by Emperor Maximilian I (1509–17), until 1797, when it was ceded to Austria by Napoleon I at the Treaty of Campo Formio. The last congress of the Quadruple Alliance (Russia, Prussia, Austria, Britain) was held at Verona in 1822. In 1866 the city was united to the Kingdom of Italy. It suffered heavy damage in World War II but has since been restored. Verona is one of the richest cities in northern Italy in Roman remains. The most remarkable of these, the amphitheatre, or Arena, is the third largest surviving Roman amphitheatre and is now used for opera. Also from the 1st century ce are the Roman theatre (with adjacent archaeological museum) and two gateways. The Arco dei Gavi (reconstructed in 1932) was erected in the 1st century bce. The Lapidario Maffeiano Museum (1714) contains Greek and Roman antiquities. Verona is remarkable for its rich Romanesque and Gothic architecture, which is often in a distinctive pink brick. The city produced two great Renaissance architects, Fra Giocondo and Michele Sanmicheli. Its outstanding churches include the Romanesque San Zeno Maggiore (originally 5th century, rebuilt 1117–1227), with a brick and marble facade, a celebrated marble porch, and a triptych by the 14th-century painter Andrea Mantegna, and the Gothic Sant’Anastasia (foundation 1290; completed 1422–81). The Romanesque-Gothic cathedral (rebuilt 15th century) contains an Assumption by the 16th-century artist Titian and one of Europe’s oldest libraries. Also notable are the churches of San Fermo Maggiore, comprising two 11th-century edifices, the upper rebuilt after 1313; SS. Nazzaro and Celso, rebuilt in 1464–83; and San Giorgio in Braida, begun in 1477 and consecrated in 1536, partially designed by Sanmicheli. Notable secular landmarks include the Castelvecchio (now the Civic Museum, Verona), built by Cangrande II in 1354; the Loggia del Consiglio (1493), attributed to Fra Giocondo; the Arche Scaligere, comprising the elaborate Scaliger tombs with Gothic canopies surmounted by equestrian statues; the Palazzo della Ragione (1193; much altered); and the Ponte Scaligero (1354), rebuilt after being damaged in World War II. Verona was also a renowned medieval centre of painting. The work of Antonio Pisanello (Pisano) climaxes the courtly fresco work of the 14th and 15th centuries. The influence of Bartolommeo Montagna of Vicenza and his father-in-law, the Venetian Jacopo Bellini, in the 15th century combined with that of Venice to affect the whole Veronese school. The city’s most famous painter was the 15th-century artist Paolo Caliari (Paolo Veronese), who spent most of his active life in Venice although his Martyrdom of St. George remains in San Giorgio in Braida at Verona. The city is the centre of rail and road connections from northern Italy to central Europe via the Brenner Pass; it links Milan and Venice by rail and road and is served by airports at Boscomantico and Villafranca. Verona ships fruits and vegetables to central Europe and is noted for its cereal market and its annual International Agricultural and Horse Fair (since 1898). There are engineering, chemical, and paper industries, sugar refining, and diversified manufactures. Artistic furniture making and work in precious metals and marble are flourishing handicraft industries, and Verona’s traditional wines (Amarone, Bardolino, Valpolicella, Soave, and Recioto) are famous. Pop. (2011 est.) mun., 254,607. Category:JFD Category:Civilopedia Entries